Intermittent flow device



Sept. 25, 1962 J. EAGAR 3,055,387

INTERMITTENT FLOW DEVICE Filed April 28, 1960 United States Patent3,055,387 WTERMITTENT FLOW DEVICE Lee J. Eager, Hurricane, Utah FiledApr. 28, 196i), Ser. No. 25,418 4 (Iiaims. (Cl. 137-416) This inventionrelates to a control device for automatic cyclic operation to releaseliquid from a source for predetermined time periods at a predeterminedfrequency. While the invention is widely applicable for intermittentflow control it has been initially embodied as a device for automaticintermittent operation of an irrigation system such as a sprinklingsystem. This initial embodiment of the invention has been selected forthe present disclosure and will provide adequate guidance for thoseskilled in the art who may have occasion to apply the same principles toother specific purposes.

The broad object of the invention is to provide a wholly mechanicalautomatic intermittent control means as distinguished from a mechanismemploying electrical components and to provide such a mechanical controlmeans of utmost simplicity that is readily adjustable and that may bedepended upon for trouble-free operation over indefinitely long serviceperiods.

To achieve this object the invention includes a valve to release theliquid from a source, means to divert a minor portion of the releasedliquid to a control chamber at a first given rate and means to releasethe liquid from the control chamber at a second lower given rate. Thusas long as the release valve is open the control chamber fills withliquid at the diiference between the two rates and when the releasevalve is closed, the control chamber empties at the lower rate.

Cyclic filling and emptying of the control chamber for control of therelease valve is accomplished by using float means to close the releasevalve in response to rise of the liquid level in the control chamber toa predetermined high level and by further providing means to delay theopening of the valve until the liquid level in the control chamber dropsto a predetermined low level. Thus the release valve is open during thetime periods during which the liquid level rises and is closed duringthe alternate time periods when the liquid level is dropping.

A feature of the invention is the simplicity of the means for delayingthe opening of the release valve until the liquid falls to a desired lowlevel. A latch is provided to hold the release valve closed in responseto rise of the liquid to a high level. Additional means is providedwhich is buoyed up by the liquid until the liquid drops to a low levelwhereupon the weight of the additional means is transferred to the latchto release the latch for opening of the valve. Rather than employ aspring latch or spring pressed detent type of latch, I employ as aprimary feature of the preferred practice of the invention a permanentmagnet which is overcome by the transferred weight. Such a holding meanshas no moving parts and may be depended upon for reliable operationindefinitely.

The various features and advantages of the invention may be understoodfrom the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative FIG. 1 isa side elevation of the presently preferred embodiment of the inventionwith a side wall removed to reveal the control mechanism, the partsbeing shown with the liquid at the minimum level and with the floatmeans at its lowermost position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view with the float means at its uppermost positionand with the liquid at its maximum level; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification of theinvention.

The initial embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings isemployed as an automatic control for periodically operating a sprinklersystem. For this purpose, -a control chamber 10' is formed by a tank 12having a removable lid 14. An upper nipple 15 is suitably mounted in thewall of the tank for connection to a water supply or pressurized watersystem. A second lower nipple 16 is also suitably mounted in the wall ofthe tank for connection to the sprinkler system that is to be operatedintermittently.

Inside the tank 12. the upper nipple 15 is connected to the inlet sideof a release valve 18 and the outlet side of the release valve isconnected in turn to the lower nipple 16 by a short pipe 20 and an elbow22. The short pipe 24 is equipped with a suitable aperture to divert asmall portion of the liquid from the release valve 18 into the controlchamber lit at a first given rate. Preferably such an aperture isadjustable or variable and for this purpose an orifice fitting 24 may beused. Such an orifice member may be replaced whenever desired by anorifice member of a diiferent capacity to change the cyclic operation ofthe intermittent control.

The tank has a drainage aperture to discharge water from the controlchamber at a second lower given rate. Here again, such an aperture ispreferably adjustable or variable for the purpose of adjusting thecyclic operation. For this purpose, the drainage aperture of the tankmay be in the form of an orifice member 25' which may be replaced by anorifice member of diflerent flow capacity whenever desired.

The release valve 18 is a well known type of float valve that is widelyavailable in commerce. The release valve 18 is secured by a bracket 26to an upper horizontal support rod 28. In a well known manner, therelease valve 18 is operated by a control member in the form of a floatarm 30 that is mounted on a pivot 32. In the construction shown, thefloat arm 30 has an angular extension 34 connected by a link 35 to alever 36 that is fulcrnmed on a pivot 38. Thus when the float arm 30rises from the lower position shown in FIG. 1 to the upper positionshown in FIG. 2, the lever 36 is swung against the release valve 18 toclose the release valve and when the float arm drops back to theposition shown in FIG.

1, the lever 36 permits the release valve to open.

A permanent magnet 40 is mounted on the previously mentioned support rod28 by a suitable bracket 42. The bracket 42 is releasably fixed on thesupport rod by a screw 44- which may be temporarily loosened to permitthe bracket to be shifted along the support rod.

A suitable armature 45 is mounted on the float arm 30 for cooperationwith the permanent magnet 40. Preferably the armature 45 is adjustablelongitudinally of the float arm and for this purpose the float arm isformed with a screw thread 46 and extends slidingly through thearmature. The armature 45 is normally irmnobilized on the float arm by apair of clamping nuts 48 which may be temporarily loosened for shiftingthe armature.

A bracket 50 to carry a pair of floats 52 and 54 is mounted on the floatarm 30 in the same adjustable manner as the armature 45. Thus float arm30 extends through the bracket 50 in a sliding manner and the bracket isimmobilized on the float arm at a selected position by a pair ofclamping nuts 53. The float 52 is rigidly mounted on the bracket 50 by arigid but adjustable auxiliary arm 55 but the float 54 is carried by anauxiliary arm 56 that is loosely pivotally connected to the bracket by aloose ring 57.

The float 52 may be a conventional float of the type commonly employedin flush tanks. The float 54 may be a hollow float, the interior ofwhich is accessible to contain a selected quantity of small lead shot 58to serve as a ballast.

The manner in which the control device functions to serve its purposemay be readily understood from the foregoing description. Consideringthe operating cycle as starting with the water in the control chamber atthe mini-mum liquid level 60 and with the float arm 30 and the twofloats 52 and 54 at their lowermost positions shown in FIG. 1, it isapparent that the release valve 18 is open to deliver water underpressure to the outlet nipple 16 and that a portion of the water fromthe release valve is diverted to the control chamber 10 by the orificemember 24 in the short pipe 20. The resulting rise in the liquid levelin the control chamber is retarded by the outflow of water through thesecond orifice member 25 at a lower rate than the rate at which thewater is diverted into the control chamber. Thus the water in thecontrol chamber rises from the minimum level 60 to the maxi-mum level 62at a rate which is determined by the difference between the rate ofinflow through the orifice fitting 24 and the lower rate of outflowthrough the orifice fitting 25.

When the liquid level in the control chamber 10 approaches the maximumliquid level 62, the armature 45 is attracted to the fixed permanentmagnet 40 and the elevated float arm 30 closes the release valve 18 toterminate the first portion of the operating cycle during which waterunder pressure from the source is delivered to the sprinkler systemthrough the outlet nipple 16. The various parts are then in thepositions shown in FIG. 2.

In the absence of inflow through the orifice member 24, the liquid levelin the control chamber drops at a rate determined by the rate of outflowthrough the orifice fitting 25. The float arm 30 and the rigidlyconnected float 52 do not follow the lowering of the liquid level,however, because they are held up by the permanent magnet 40. Theloosely connected float 54, however, does follow the lowering liquidlevel. Eventually as the receding liquid level approaches the minimumliquid level 60, the loosely connected float 54 reaches its limit ofdownward movement relative to the float arm 39 and hangs suspended.Further lowering of the liquid level lowers the buoyancy force exertedon the float 54 and causes the weight of the float to be progressivelytransferred to the float arm 30 until the transferred weight overcomesthe magnetic force of the magnet to permit the float arm 30 and the twofloats 52 and 54 to drop back to the positions shown in FIG. 1 forstarting a new cycle of operation. The parts are so adjusted that theholding force of the permanent magnet 40 is slightly below thegravitational force of the float arm 30 and the two floats 52 and 54when the lowering liquid level approaches the minimum liquid level 60.

It is a simple matter for any person skilled in the art to adjust thevarious parts to cause the permanent magnet 40 to be overcomeautomatically as the liquid level drops to the minimum level. Thus thetendency of the permanent magnet to hold the float arm 30 in itsuppermost position may be decreased by shifting the bracket 42 and thearmature 45 towards the release valve 18 and vice versa. In like manner,the bracket 50 may be shifted on the float arm 30 towards the releasevalve 18 to reduce the gravitational force of the two floats on thefloat arm and vice versa. It is also possible to replace the magnet 40with a stronger or weaker magnet for varying the cycle of operation. Therelative durations of the two stages of the operating cycle may bevaried by changing the orifice members 24 and 25. Increasing the size ofthe orifice member 24 and decreasing the size of the orifice member 25increases the rate at which the water-level rises in the control chamberand thus reduces the duration of the periods in which water is suppliedto the irrigation system. On the other hand, decreasing the size of theorifice member 24 and increasing the size of the orifice member 25reduces the rate at which the liquid level rises and thus prolongs theperiods during which water is supplied to the sprinkler system. Thefrequency with which the sprinkler system is operated may be reduced byreducing the rate at which the water level falls in the control chamberwhen the release valve 18 is closed. Thus, reducing the size of theorifice member 25 reduces the frequency of sprinkler operation and viceversa. If the orifice member 25 is reduced in size to reduce thefrequency of the sprinkling operations, the size of the orifice fitting24 must also be reduced if the duration of the periods of sprinkleroperation is to remain unchanged. The described embodiment of theinvention may be adjusted, for example, to operate a sprinkler systemfor thirty minutes every twenty-four hours or for a few minutes everyfour or five hours.

FIG. 3 shows how the described embodiment of the invention may bemodified by using a single float 70 instead of the two previouslymentioned floats 52 and 54. The rest of the mechanism including thefloat arm 30 remains unchanged. The single float 70 is rigidly mountedon the end of an arm 72 which swings about a pivot 74 on a bracket 75that is adjustable along the length of the float arm in the same manneras the previously mentioned bracket 50. The pivot 74 permits theauxiliary arm 72 to swing only in a vertical plane that includes thefloat arm 30. Thus the float 70 is free to swing between a lowerposition shown in dotted lines and an upper position shown in solidlines, at which upper position the auxiliary arm 72 swings against astop member 76. The stop member 76 is adjustably secured on the floatarm 36 by a setscrew 78.

When the liquid level rises, the float 70 forces the auxiliary arm 72against the stop 76 thereby to cause the float arm 30 to swing upwardand thus eventually close the release valve when the liquid reaches thedesired maximum level. During the period in which the liquid level isfalling while the float arm 30 is held in its uppermost position by thepermanent magnet, the float 70 is free to swing to follow the fallingliquid level. Eventually the liquid level drops sufficiently to causeenough of the weight of the float 70 to be transferred to the float arm30 to overcome the permanent magnet. Thus this modified form of theinvention functions in essentially the same manner as the firstdescribed embodiment.

My description in specific detail of the selected embodiments of theinvention will suggest various changes, substitutions and otherdepartures from my disclosure within the spirit and scope of theappended claims. For example, a spring pressed latch may be substitutedfor the permanent magnet, the latch being released automatically by thehinged float 70 of FIG. 3 when the float swings downward to approach itsvertical position.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device for releasing a liquid intermittently from a source, thecombination of: a valve to release the liquid from the source; a chamberto hold a quantity of the liquid; means to divert a portion of thereleased liquid to the chamber at a given rate when said release valveis open; means to release liquid from the chamber at a rate less thansaid given rate so that the liquid level in the chamber rises when therelease valve is open and falls when the release valve is subsequentlyclosed; a control member for said valve movable between a valve-openingposition and a valve-closing position; float means for contact with theliquid in the chamber to shift the control member to its valve-closingposition in response to rise of the liquid to a relatively high level;and means to releasably hold said control member at its valve-closingposition in response to shift of the control member to that position,said float means including a float operatively connected to said controlmember with freedom for a range of movement relative to the controlmember to permit the float to progressively emerge from the liquid asthe falling liquid level approaches a relatively low level withcorresponding progressive transfer of the weight of the float to thecontrol member, said retaining means being releasable in response tosaid transfer of Weight, said holding means being a yielding means inthe form of a permanent magnet and a cooperating armature to yield tothe transfer of weight of said float.

2. In a device for releasing a liquid intermittently from a source, thecombination of: a valve to release the liquid from the source; a chamberto hold a quantity of the liquid; means to divert a portion of thereleased liquid to the chamber at a given rate when said release valveis open; means to release liquid from the chamber at a rate less thansaid given rate so that the liquid level in the chamber rises when therelease valve is open and falls when the release valve is subsequentlyclosed; an operating member movable between a relatively lowvalveopening position and a relatively [high valve-closing position; twocooperating elements comprising a permanent magnet and an armaturetherefor, one of said two elements being carried by said operatingmember, the other of said two elements being fixed at a position forabutment by said one element at the valve-closing position of theoperating member to hold the operating member elevated at itsvalve-closing position; and responsive means to raise said operatingmember in response to rise of the liquid level in the chamber and tolower the operating member in response to fall of the liquid level, saidresponsive means including a movably mounted float to ride on the liquidin the tank and means connecting the float with the operating member tolimit the distance between the float and the operating member thereby tosuspend the float from the operating member when the liquid levelreaches a relatively low level in the chamber, the Weight of said floatbeing sufficient to overcome said permanent magnet, whereby the floatmeans causes the operating member to close the valve when the liquidlevel reaches a predetermined maximum and the valve then remains closeduntil the liquid falls to a predetermined minimum.

3. A combination as set forth in ol'aim 2 in which said operating memberis a lever and in which said float means is adjustable to vary themoment applied to the lever by the float means.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said operating meansis a lever and the element thereon is adjustable in positionlongitudinally of the lever to vary the moment applied tothe lever bythe permanent magnet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS725,557 Goodwin et al Apr. 14, 1903 1,341,002 Wright May 25, 19201,803,423 Brown May 5, 1931 1,894,367 Corcor-an Jan. 17, 1933 2,387,858Russel Oct. 30, 1945 2,437,764 Spence Mar. 16, 1948 2,591,581 MillerwiseApr. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 676,095 France Nov. 18, 1929 764,876 GreatBritain Jan. 2, 1957

